Everything Joe Burrow Said After Bengals' 32-14 Win Over Ravens on Thanksgiving

Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow completed 24-of-46 passes for 261 yards and two touchdowns in Cincinnati's 32-14 win over Baltimore on Thursday night. It was Burrow's first start since undergoing surgery after suffering a grade 3 left toe sprain on Sept. 14.

Check out the transcript of Burrow's postgame press conference below and watch video of Burrow at the top of this page.

On his first game back going the way that it did: “Obviously, I had to knock the rust off in the first half, so I expected myself to play better, but it was good to be out there. A lot of emotions running through it at the end of the game. It’s just good to be back with the guys.”

On how he would grade himself: “I thought the second half, I started to put it more where I wanted. I settled in a little bit. I certainly missed some throws that I typically make. But after that, I felt pretty comfortable back there. I thought the O-line did great, we ran it well. Obviously, the defense played great. I’ve just got to keep getting better.”

On if he feels the boost that he gives the team: “I don’t know. Any time you can get a big win like this, it’s exciting. The guys worked really hard for this. We knew where we were at with our record. The guys worked really hard to put on good performances, and to do that, it feels good.”

On when he felt that he was in a rhythm: “The whole first half, my feet were a little antsy back there. I was missing some throws. The second half, I felt more comfortable. I started putting it where I wanted to. Making a couple plays with my feet, getting out of the pocket a little bit. Certainly don’t want to make a living that way, but [I] was able to pick my spots."

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On if he had any moment to reflect on getting back out there: “Yeah, I certainly had those moments after the game. Certainly, hasn’t been easy on me through six years from a lot of different angles. So, I worked really hard to put myself in position to be back out there, and a lot of people around me have done the same. Through a lot of discussion, time in the training room, just a lot that’s gone into this, and I’m proud to be back.”

On if there was any throw that got him going: “That touchdown to [Andrei] Iosivas, I felt pretty good about. I put it right where I wanted it. I put it right in a good spot and he was ready for the look.”

On if this is why he put in all the work to get back: “There’s no better feeling than that. Putting in work for a long time and going out and it paying off, there’s just no feeling like going out in front of the world with a group of guys that work really hard to go try and win games. Going out and putting on a good performance and winning that game. Obviously, we have a lot of games left, but we’re going to enjoy this one. We have a mini bye weekend. Everyone’s going to go home and have Thanksgiving with their family, smile and eat, and feel good about it.”

On what issues he saw in the red zone: “Well, I’m trying to think. I think for the most part, you’ve got to give credit to them. They mixed up their looks down there. They zero-pressured us. They doubled Ja’Marr [Chase], they singled Ja’Marr. They did a lot of different things down there. At the end of the day, we have to make plays and put the ball in the end zone. We can’t kick six field goals, but that’s the kind of game that it was. Our defense was playing the way that it was, and the way we ran the ball, it was a ‘take your points’ kind of game. Obviously, the one that really hurt us was when we got the turnover down there and came out with no points. Typically, that’s going to be tough to win the game, but we were able to pull it out.”

On the Ravens zero-blitz on all four snaps: “Yeah, that was really the only drive that they did that. And then the next couple of times, they were still playing some man, and like I said, doubling Ja’Marr [Chase] sometimes, not doubling Ja’Marr sometimes. But we needed somebody to make a play, and Tanner [Hudson] made that play on, in my opinion, the best safety in the league. He just continues to make play after play, and that one really opened the floodgates, so credit to Tanner for that one.”

On if he was looking for the right look on the two touchdown passes: “Yeah, I don’t know about all year because I haven’t been out there. We were hunting that look on the Tanner [Hudson] touchdown. Really, Kyle [Hamilton] played great. But I threw a good ball and Tanner made a great play. And the one to [Andrei] Iosivas, they were kind of bringing that pressure. They brought it before in games in the past, so we were ready for it. But they played some different coverages behind that pressure today, but good job by Iosivas in recognizing the coverage, and he was ready for it.”

On how it felt playing in his shoes: “Yeah, it was good. I was a little more mobile than I expected to be, to be honest. I felt good. We’ve got a good system on the sideline of changing shoes out and doing what I need to do to stay fresh. So, we continue to do that.”

On him leaving the pocket: “I think the first time I really left the pocket, was in the red zone. I threw it to [Andrei] Iosivas, but after that one, I felt pretty good. I felt a little more comfortable to do some more of that stuff.”

On throwing 37 passes in the first half: “Certainly I had to knock the rust off. I missed some throws that I typically make, but I didn’t panic. So, I felt better in the second half.”

On if this gives a glimpse of what the offense will be over the next five weeks: “You know the guys we have in the locker room. We know what we have in front of us. It’s certainly not easy. The way our defense has played the last several weeks I think has been extremely positive. Obviously, they were great, great, great today. But that’s been building. That’s been building all year. Seeing them putting in all the work. See Al [Golden] talking about a lot of different things, they end up showing up tonight and in the last couple of games as well. So, credit to those guys for working so hard the way they do and putting on that performance.”

On what it was like eating turkey on Thanksgiving on the field: “I didn’t touch it. I didn’t touch it. I don’t know who made it, where they made it, I’m good. Add a little pepper to that, I was good with the pepper.”

On his faith in TE Tanner Hudson going up against the best safety in the league: “From the moment Tanner got here, all he did was make plays in practice. When he first got here, was that in 2022 I think? When we signed him, I was like, ‘Who’s this guy making all these catches on the scout team?’ Didn’t know his name, and he continuously kept doing it. I’ve been his biggest fan since he got here. It’s not easy being in that spot when you’re the third or fourth tight end, and you might get two snaps in certain spots in the game, and it’s cold outside, you’re on the sideline, you’ve got to stay warm, and then you’ve got to come in and catch a back column throw against Kyle Hamilton. That’s not easy. He’s always been ready for his number to be called, so credit to him for that.”

On if there’s anything he’s thankful for in his challenge coming back: “I’m just thankful for the opportunity to play this game. We’ve got great guys in there I love playing with. We’ve got a great coaching staff. I’m thankful for all my loved ones being there for me during this tough time. They know who they are. I’m not going to name them, but they know who they are. They’ve been there for me a lot, so that makes me feel good. And obviously, the training staff that gets creative, that pushes me. I push them. We’ve got a great relationship. Certainly, I’ve been in there enough, we better. But if anything ever happens again, we’ll get right back to it.”

On if he thought he’d throw the ball as much as he did: “I don’t think I really thought about it. I knew what kind of game it could be with Lamar [Jackson] over there. I’ve thrown a lot against these guys in the past. Didn’t quite turn out that way as far as the shootout-wise. We threw it and we ran it well, too. So, we’ve got to keep going on.”

On him sounding a little hoarse: “I haven’t yelled like that in a while. Obviously, it’s loud out there.”